Food heals. And when it comes to foods for your thyroid, it’s all the more true. Diet often plays a key role in whether your thyroid is functioning properly, so it makes sense to start there when you’re aiming to restore the health of your thyroid. Food can be your friend or your enemy when you’re dealing with thyroid trouble, depending on which foods you’re focusing on.
Foods That Nourish the Thyroid
Coconut oil. For many people, the simple act of eating more coconut oil is enough to raise their body temperature and supply them with natural energy, which indicates the powerful role coconut oil plays in thyroid health. Buy high quality coconut oil online here.
Cod liver oil. The bioavailable vitamin A in cod liver oil (mainly the quality kind found here) is especially supportive of healthy thyroid function, because the thyroid depends on plenty of natural vitamin A.
Butter. With its plentiful supply of vitamin A and iodine, butter remains a thyroid food that nourishes the whole body.
Seafood. The richest source of natural iodine, seafood played an important role in traditional Asian cultures. These people ate soy (highly fermented, of course) on a daily basis, but also ate plenty of iodine-rich seafood to counteract soy’s anti-nutrients. Sea vegetables like kelp and dulce are especially nutritious, and so is genuine fish broth.Foods That Damage the Thyroid
Wheat and other grains like rye, barley, millet and oats. There has been some evidence of the link between gluten-sensitivity and poor thyroid function. If your thyroid isn’t in great shape, you’ll probably be better off restricting your intake of gluten. Millet contains goitrogens, and should be avoided if you’re concerned about your thyroid.
Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, turnips, brussels sprouts and kale. These veggies are known for their thyroid-suppressing properties because they contain goitrogens. Thorough cooking deactivates these to some extent. You don’t have to eliminate these vegetables from your diet, but it would be wise to reduce your intake if you’re concerned about thyroid health.
Soy in its many forms. Soy is a powerful food. Even a small serving of soy each day is enough to suppress thyroid function. So give your thyroid a break and ditch the soy. Soy. Yes, I am including this one twice because it’s one of the worst foods for your thyroid. Don’t underestimate how damaging this food is to your metabolism.
Coffee. Caffeine overstimulates the thyroid and interferes with the absorption of nutrients that could benefit thyroid health. It's best to limit your consumption of caffeine-laden beverages like coffee. ***(UPDATE Dec. 2012: My original ideas about coffee and thyroid may be incorrect. As it turns out, coffee may be beneficial to thyroid health in addition to providing other important benefits. Read my latest post on coffee here.)
Remember that regardless of what you are or aren’t eating, not eating enough is a surefire way to interfere with natural thyroid function. Dieting and under-eating are top contributors to thyroid imbalances, so make sure you are eating plenty of real food for your activity level and lifestyle.
Need high quality resources for nourishing foods? Check out my Resources page!
Some of the information above came from two of my favorite books: Eat Fat, Lose Fat and The Mood Cure. To read my reviews of these books, check here and here.
This post is part of Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade.
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